Review: Uusi Eden

The new Eden borrows from Shakespeare and the politics of the day – Musical comedy shines with actors and humour

The apocalyptic musical comedy New Eden brings the story of Julius Caesar to Helsinki after the nuclear bomb. But what on earth do they eat there?

Is there a place for theatre and culture after the end of the world? And is there a place for it now? Uusi Eden, which can be seen at Studio Pasila and is set in post-nuclear Helsinki, is in some places quite direct commentary on the current government and anti-cultural policies. The main character and anti-hero of the play is already called Petteri (Miiko Toiviainen), and he is an orphan.

The former theatre members have continued their lives in familiar backstages. After the end of the world, the inhabitants of the new Eden will have the same kind of apathetic acceptance of the situation as they do now in the midst of the climate crisis: this is how it is and this is how it goes, there is nothing else we can do. With one exception.

Everyone else has their own roles and tasks, except for Sonja (Anna-Sofia Tuominen), who feels useless. He would even like to act a little obsessively, and thus get meaning in his life, but it is not allowed. The leader of the group, Mother (Tiina Peltonen), wants everyone to focus on productive work. The mantra is love and harmony, and the contradiction of words is complemented by familiar hand gestures. However, the revolution moves forward when a pizza delivery man named Petteri is found in the ruins of the Tripla shopping centre, who, despite his fear of conflict, is ready to do a terrible job to gain Sonja’s popularity.

Sonja wants to perform William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, but the whole of New Eden also follows Shakespeare’s plot. Like cockroaches, betrayal, love and power struggles are eternal and resistant to a nuclear bomb. Unlike rats, it seems, if you thought that after the end of the world, they would eat line tails, you were wrong.

Despite the terrible events, New Eden offers above all comedy, rejoicing and escapism, sometimes ironic and sometimes cynical. The fast-paced and playful performance requires an energetic cast, and it has one. In addition to the above, Niki Rautén’s lively Tuisku, for example, steals the audience’s attention many times.

In addition to directing, Juho Mantere is also responsible for the script and, together with composer-arranger-conductor Henri Lyysaari, also for the lyrics of the songs. Maybe it’s thanks to the creators or the fact that the songs are written directly in Finnish, but the lyrics of New Eden feel wittier and smoother in many places than in translated musicals. That’s why it’s a shame that for some performers, the roar of the music makes it difficult to hear the lyrics. A slightly quieter accompaniment would work better.

Costume designer Riina Leea Nieminen deserves special thanks for the characters’ versatile and inventively recycled outfits. Especially Mom’s varied outfits were gorgeous.

New Eden is a co-production of the Helsinki City Theatre and Q-teatteri. There is power in cooperation, as the performance manages to make use of the strengths of both, such as the musical expertise of the City Theatre and the creative madness of the Q Theatre, which makes even the unusual ordinary and vice versa.

Review on the Apu magazine website.